The invention relates to a digital image processing system for the manufacture of photographic prints. In particular, the invention relates to a system for the manufacture of copies of originals on photographic print material.
Conventional systems for the manufacture of photographic prints typically include the following components:
a preparation station wherein exposed films are removed from the cartridges containing them and, if applicable, spliced together to a long strip and wherein order-specific accompanying data are entered into the system,
a film processor for the developing and drying of the films,
a scanner which photoelectrically scans the individual images (originals) present on the developed films,
an analog-optical or digital exposure device, which projects the image information from the originals onto photographic print material, normally photographic print paper,
an exposure processor which processes the scanning data recorded by the scanner into exposure data and controls the exposure device therewith,
a paper processor for the development and drying of the photographic print material exposed in the exposure device, and
a terminal processing station wherein the developed films and the associated copies for each order are combined and, if applicable, packaged.
The film processor can be designed to either process individual films or to process several films spliced together in a long strip. The scanner and the exposure processor are normally combined with the exposure device to an apparatus unit which is usually designated a printer. The printer, or the exposure device contained therein, can be designed for the processing of individual original pictures, individual films, or spliced film strips, as well as for the processing of individual sheets or long strips of print material. The exposure device can project the originals analog-optically (photographical) onto the print material or can project an image onto the copy material based on the image information data produced by the scanner. The individual components of the systems can be wholly or partially separated or can be combined with components which proceed or follow in the process flow. The transport of films and printing material between separate individual components is carried out batchwise by way of appropriate transport means or manually. With coupled components, the transport of films and printing material from one to the respectively following component is timed, whereby the individual components, within certain limits, can be disconnected with respect to speed by suitable film or paper buffers.
In such systems, the individual process steps are product driven in that the connection of the individual components of the system is determined and controlled by the developed films and the exposed printing material, independent of whether the system represents a mini lab or a high capacity installation used in large-scale labs. This product-controlled connection dictates the sequence and the speed of the individual process steps. In the interest of the highest possible efficiency of the total system, these systems require careful preparation and planning of the order processing, which includes, for example, the sorting of orders according to film types, the photographic printing material to be used, etc. The requirement for preparation and planning in the processing of an order is disadvantageous in that it limits the flexibility and degree of freedom of the order processing in the practical operation.
The present invention is now supposed to provide a system for the production of prints, wherein this disadvantage of prior systems is avoided and which allows the processing of any orders without prior planning, within the limits set by the system control components.
The solution to this object of the invention is achieved in a digital image processing system for the manufacture of prints, especially for the manufacture of copies of originals on photographic printing material, comprising an input device for the registration of digital image data from an input medium which represent the prints to be manufactured, especially a developed photographic film, as well as accompanying data associated with the image data, a data storage for the temporary storage of the registered and possibly processed image data and the accompanying data, an output device for the image data onto an output medium, especially a photographic print material, and a control device for controlling and connecting the input device, the data storage and the output device, the control device managing and controlling the flow of data between said devices according to the accompanying data associated with the image data.
It is one of the principal aspects of the present invention that the image data which represent the pictures to be produced are temporarily stored together with the accompanying data in a data storage of the type of a databank whereby the control device manages the stored data and controls the data flow between the data storage and the input device and the output device according to the order. In this way, the input device and the output device are uncoupled relative to the product and the input of the image accompanying data from the input device into the data storage can be carried out independent of the output of the data to the output device. This allows operation of the input and output devices at different speeds which are optimally adapted to the respective process. Moreover, it is possible to physically separate the input and output devices, which further increases the flexibility of the system and the processing steps.
In a practical embodiment of the system in accordance with the invention, the input device has at least one scanning device for the image-based photoelectric scanning of physical originals and for the production of image data which present the originals. Furthermore, the output device includes at least one colour printer or a digital exposure device for a picture-based exposure of the image data stored in the memory onto a photographic printing material. In that embodiment, the system is adapted for the production of photographic copies of a physical original, typically the individual pictures of a developed photographic film. The digitizing of the originals and the intermediate storage of the image data in the data storage obviates the otherwise conventional physical intermediate storage or buffering between the respective components, which reduces cost and space requirements.
In a further, especially practical embodiment of the system in accordance with the invention, the input device has at least one input module which cooperates with the control device and has a development device for photographic films as well as a scanning device that is combined therewith into a physical unit or integrated thereinto for the picture-by-picture photoelectric in line scanning of developed films and for the production of image data which represent the originals on the films. The output device further includes at least one output module cooperating with the control device and having a developing device for photographic print material as well as a digital exposure device combined therewith into a physical unit or integrated thereinto for the picture-by-picture in line projection of the image data temporarily stored in the data storage onto the still undeveloped photographic print material. In this embodiment, the system is suitable for the production of photographic prints of individual images on photographic films. In contrast to conventional systems, however, a printer in the classical sense is missing, its functions being divided between the individual input and output modules and integrated therein. By simultaneously using several input and output modules, which, for example, can be adapted for different film formats, film types and printing materials, it is possible to carry out the most diverse printing orders without preparatory planning and in any sequence. Furthermore, the control device can optimize the capacity of the individual modules and thereby increase the total efficiency of the system.